


Snakes

by regentzilla



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-26
Updated: 2014-05-26
Packaged: 2018-01-26 14:00:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1690841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regentzilla/pseuds/regentzilla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Underneath the arguments rattling around the inside of the container, the bottled-up torrents of fear pouring out of everyone's mouths, Glenn can hear Maggie crying. The only reason he isn't crying along with her, staining her grimy hair with tears, is that he's enthralled with watching Daryl.</p><p>Post S4 finale, written before S5.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snakes

Underneath the arguments rattling around the inside of the container, the bottled-up torrents of fear pouring out of everyone's mouths, Glenn can hear Maggie crying. It's gentle against his shoulder but enough to wrack her body with queasy sobs. It makes him sick to see her like this but he doesn't blame her— even the seed of the thought that they might lose Beth so soon after Hershel is enough to make Glenn's stomach turn and ache at the unfairness of it. He thinks about the burned photo.

The only reason he isn't crying along with Maggie, staining her grimy hair with tears, is that he's enthralled with watching Daryl.

Daryl is the closest to his and Maggie's corner of the shipping container, the only one not rendered an indistinct blur by distance and darkness. The way he talks has always reminded Glenn of a rattlesnake, the way he jabs with his hands and stands with one shoulder sloped forward to flash his crossbow. He doesn't have the crossbow now, of course, but he's still at an angle, the wings on the back of his vest uneven. He's yelling and arguing, with Abraham's group or one of their own it's impossible to tell. Glenn is so entranced that he doesn't even register what's being said, or that Maggie's stopped crying, until she shoves his arm off her shoulders and hauls herself to stand at Daryl's side. Glenn hears a blur of 'don't you dare, don't you even think about blaming him, people get lost and it's nobody's fault, don't you dare'. Her voice is rough but not choked. She'll be crying again later, Glenn knows, but for the moment she's ruthless.

Snakes, both of them.

Glenn hears Rick step into the middle of it all, voice firm but tense, and the tight bunch of people lean back, thin out, and finally dissipate to the sides of the container. Before Daryl can start pacing the way his anxious posture screams out that he wants to Maggie catches his arm and pulls him over to Glenn, still seated in the corner with his arms folded over his chest and his legs in front of his body. Maggie sits Daryl down next to Glenn and rests her head on his shoulder, reaches in front of him to hold Glenn's hand and effectively tie Daryl down. He looks pretty pissed but only out of obligation, and despite his jittering leg and stiff shoulders his body is relaxing into both Glenn's and Maggie's.

“It is not your fault,” Maggie whispers, then sniffs back the remnants of her tears. “It is not.”

“You're the ones who should be upset,” Daryl mutters back, “should be screamin' at me, not babyin' me.” But he sounds relieved.

Glenn works his hand not in Maggie's up behind Daryl's back and rests it on his shoulder— he gets a little nervous thrill out of it, because he thought about Daryl before he met Maggie and he still does sometimes, lets himself have little moments of mental infidelity. Every now and again he wonders if Maggie does too, because she not infrequently does little things like grab his arm to calm him down. Big things like leap to his defense when someone accuses him of being responsible for her sister's disappearance.

“You two should sleep,” Glenn says, “I think things will stay quiet for a while. I'll keep watch.”

Maggie's hand squeezes his and Daryl lets out a neutral grunt— Glenn knows it's a thanks— then curls up slightly and leans his weight towards Glenn, letting himself relax just a little. Glenn's hands tighten in surprise and Maggie smiles at him over Daryl's head— she knows. Of course she does.

The container seems quieter, and soon enough Daryl and Maggie are dozing. Glenn wraps his arms around both of them as best he can.


End file.
